


Destiny Comes A-Calling

by phoenixnz



Series: Nightwing Chronicles [28]
Category: Batman - Fandom, DCU, Smallville
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 07:00:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7350649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixnz/pseuds/phoenixnz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clark is worried when he learns Lionel has been doing some digging around Smallville</p>
            </blockquote>





	Destiny Comes A-Calling

The argument seemed to spring up from nowhere. They were just walking through the gardens, over the snow-covered ground. It was Bruce’s first day out in the grounds and Alfred had insisted he wrap up warmly. Clark had smirked at his friend at the way the butler had wrapped a woollen scarf that seemed longer than Bruce was taller around his neck.

Bruce, of course, had rolled his eyes in exasperation at his former guardian. He was twenty-one now, and hardly a child. Still, he had acquiesced when both Clark and Lex had told him they didn’t want him to have a relapse.

So they’d spent a little time walking in the crisp air, talking. It was when Lex had mentioned that Bruce might want to go back to school that they’d begun to argue.

“I’m not going back. I already told you that.”

“Why not?” Clark asked.

“Because there’s no point! I’d be a year behind, or more, so I won’t graduate with the two of you. Besides, like I said the other day, it’s not like I plan on going to work for my family’s company.”

“Why not?” Lex asked. “I mean, don’t you sort of have an obligation to?”

“You’re a fine one to talk about obligations,” Bruce returned. “When you don’t want to work for your father.”

“I told you why that is. Why do you have to get on my case about it?”

“And I told you there was a way to compromise until you’re ready to break away.”

“I hate my father!” Lex said bitterly, kicking at the snow so some of it flew off his boot in all directions.

Clark, who had been brought up in a loving family, couldn’t imagine hating his own father. However, Lionel Luthor was someone he thoroughly disliked. Lex had told him of his father’s ultimatum, which Clark thought sucked, quite frankly.

Bruce nudged him. “Why so glum?” he asked. “It’s not like I’m planning on leaving again.”

“It’s not just that,” he said. “It’s … Lex’s dad.”

“What about him? Fuck him! He doesn’t rule your life, Lex.”

“Thanks, I’d rather not,” the bald man said, crinkling his nose.

“All that hair,” Clark added, shuddering for good measure.

Bruce snorted and wrapped an arm around each of them.

“I missed you guys,” he said. “You have no idea how much.”

“Oh I think we do,” Lex said. “Judging by the dreams you’ve been having.”

“What dreams?” Bruce asked.

“The kind of dreams where I wake up with a dick rubbing against my ass,” Clark told him.

They’d been sleeping together the past couple of nights in Bruce’s big bed. Bruce had somehow ended up sandwiched in the middle between him and Lex and his moans early one morning had woken Clark up. That and feeling his friend’s hard cock behind him and Bruce practically trying to hump him.

“Ah, sorry,” he said.

Clark grinned and leaned over to kiss him, getting half a face full of woollen scarf.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”

Bruce grinned back.

“So I was thinking. We could …”

“You’re not up for that, yet,” Lex told him.

“I was talking about having a workout,” Bruce said. “I need to build my strength up.”

“You’re not up for that either,” Lex replied.

“I’ll be the judge of that. Come on. It’s cold out here,” he added, shivering.

Clark thought the matter was settled, but even after a workout, which clearly, no matter how much he said otherwise, Bruce wasn’t up to, Lex and Bruce once more began arguing.

“How many times do I have to say it? I’m not going back.”

“Don’t you understand that we just want …”

“You want me where you can keep an eye on me, is that it, Lex? Do you think I’m gonna run away again?”

“The thought had crossed my mind.”

“I’m not that much of an idiot.” Bruce’s tone was snarky.

“I never said you were an idiot!”

Clark moved out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, rubbing his hair with a towel, just in time to see Lex and Bruce glaring at each other.

“Bruce, you almost died.”

“I’m not going anywhere!”

“Well, good! Because if you do, I will hunt you down and kill you!” Lex shot back.

Bruce stared at him for a moment, then wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a deep kiss that had Lex moaning in response.

Clark watched as they sank down on the bed, arms still around each other. For a moment, he felt left out, bringing back memories of those few weeks before they had graduated Excelsior, when Lex and Bruce had been part of something he wasn’t considered mature enough for.

Bruce reached out a hand and Clark took it, letting his friend pull him down to the bed. The three of them sprawled on the bed, holding each other.

Finally, Bruce sat up, leaning on one elbow, and looked down at Lex.

“What is this really all about?” he asked.

“I just …” The bald man looked down. “You know my father.”

“Lex … it’s okay. Tell me what you’re feeling.”

Clark looked at Lex and nodded. He knew the difficulty his friend was having with his father. Lex had confessed to him long ago that he was afraid of becoming his father. Of becoming the same kind of man, with the same kind of ruthlessness.

“You have no idea how hard it’s been since you’ve been away.” Lex sighed and shook his head. “No, that’s selfish. I mean, you’ve been through … you almost died, and I … I’m just here complaining about my dad and …”

“Lex …” Bruce said quietly. “It doesn’t matter what I went through there. Talk to me.”

“I don’t want to become him,” Lex blurted. “He … he won’t let go, Bruce. Every day it feels like he’s gripping me tighter and tighter; he’s suffocating me just that little bit more. And I don’t know how I’m ever going to get away from him. I’m scared, Bruce.”

“Lex, you’re strong. You don’t need us to be your moral compass, and you shouldn’t.”

“There’s so much I want to do. So much that doesn’t revolve around Dad and what he wants.”

Clark listened as Lex talked about all the things he wanted to do. Of course, he had heard most of it already, since they’d talked over the summer, but he kept quiet.

He just couldn’t imagine having the kind of father Lionel was. He remembered the arguments his mom had had with her dad. He’d wanted her to be a lawyer, rather than marry a farmer, but she had done it anyway, at the risk of losing all contact with her family.

He’d once sat down with his father and asked him. Would he expect Clark to work on the farm when he was through with his education? Jonathan had told him that as far as he was concerned, Clark had a destiny, far greater than the farm.

Still, Clark had no idea what that was yet. He’d talked with his friends about the ship and what it all meant, but so far none of them had had a clue on how to solve the mystery of the ship, or been able to figure out how to open it up.

The point was, no one was forcing Clark to follow some path that was already set out for him. He was free to make his own choices, not trapped like Lex was. The best he could do was continue to support his friend and help him fight against what his father saw was his destiny.

While matters weren’t necessarily resolved where Bruce returning to school was concerned, by the time Clark left Wayne Manor to return to the farm, he was at least relieved that Bruce was on the road to recovery.

He had a few days left before he had to return to school and Lex had told him he had to check a few things out at the plant. They’d decided to drive back from Gotham together, letting Bruce have a few days to himself as well.

Lex was quiet in the car as Clark drove cautiously over the icy road.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I … I think my dad’s up to something. I’m not sure, yet, but …”

Clark was listening with only half an ear. He was distracted by the two SUVs parked on the side of the road. There were two more in the middle of the field, with several men scattered around the field holding various tools.

“That’s Miller’s Field,” he said, frowning.

“What’s Miller’s Field?” Lex asked, as Clark brought the Porsche to a complete stop. They got out, starting to walk over toward the vehicles to see what was going on.

“It’s where Mom and Dad found me.”

Lex gasped. “That van,” he said, pointing to a grey-toned van. “It’s Luthorcorp’s. I recognise the registration number.”

Clark looked at Lex. They both ran toward the field. A man wearing what appeared to be a hazmat suit approached them.

“You two can’t be here,” he said.

Clark looked at him. The man was dark-skinned with close-cropped curly hair. Lex clutched Clark’s arm and whispered quickly in his ear that he knew the man. He’d been a local crackpot, but somehow he was now working for Luthorcorp, which didn’t bode well. As the man reached them, his friend shook his head slightly before looking at the older man.

“Dr Hamilton?” he said.

The man frowned at him, then his eyebrows rose. “Mr Luthor?”

“Lex. Mr Luthor’s my father. You want to tell me what kind of research you’re doing here?”

“It’s just standard testing, uh, Lex. Your father is considering buying this land. It’s standard operating procedure.”

Like hell it was, Clark thought. He concentrated his vision as one of the men in a suit called Dr Hamilton over. He was holding something in a gloved hand. Clark narrowed his focus on the object the man was holding. It looked like some kind of metal disk. The exact size and shape of the indentation in the ship.

He clutched his friend’s arm. “Lex!”

Lex turned and looked at him. “What is it?”

“They’re not testing the soil, Lex,” he said, taking him aside. “They found something. A disk.”

Lex looked worried. “Clark, are you sure?”

He nodded. “We have to get that disk, Lex. I think it came from the ship.”

The last thing he wanted was for that disk to fall into the hands of someone like Lionel. He suspected Lionel had been studying him because of his relationship with Lex.

“There’s not much we can do now,” Lex said. “We’ll call Bruce as soon as we get to the farm.”

Clark continued to stare at the two men discussing their find. Lex pulled on his arm.

“Clark.”

“Uh, yeah. Okay.” He let his friend pull him back to the car.

Lex drove to the farm and pulled out his cellphone, dialling the manor. Clark listened in on the conversation.

“Bruce, we have a problem. Lionel’s been doing some digging, both figuratively and literally.”

“Okay.”

“They found something. Clark thinks it’s a part of the ship.”

Bruce cursed softly. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Clark said, nodding.

Lex turned back to the phone. “Clark seems to think so. There’s a guy. He’s a local crackpot. Well, at least he was. He seems to be working for Luthorcorp now.”

“What’s his name?”

“Hamilton. Steven Hamilton.”

“Okay, give me a day or so to do some research on the guy. You think Lionel’s been investigating Clark because of you?”

Clark nodded. He’d already mentioned his theory to Lex.

“Yeah, it looks like it.”

Martha came out to the barn, probably to see what they were up to, since Clark hadn’t gone in to greet his parents.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Lex looked up, then spoke into the phone. “We gotta go, Bruce. Call me?”

“You know I will,” Clark heard. He glanced at Lex and shook his head, telling him not to say anything to his mother about the piece of the ship.

“Sorry Mom,” he said. “We’ll be there in a minute.”

“I made some cookies. Oatmeal raisin,” she said, smiling at Lex, who grinned back. He’d always loved her oatmeal raisin cookies.

There was an anxious wait over the next day or so. Lex had to work at the plant for a few hours and wasn’t able to visit the farm, so Clark did his chores and helped out where he could, trying not to let his anxiety show. Knowing Lionel as he did, the thought that the man might be studying him, and possibly could influence some government agent to kidnap him, terrified him.

Lex called him a couple of days later, saying he had an email from Bruce.

“He’s calling in a few minutes,” he said.

“Okay, I’ll be right over,” Clark promised.

True to his word, Bruce called a few minutes later. Clark had run to the mansion and was waiting with Lex. His friend held his hand, knowing how worried he was. They sat together on the couch, listening.

“Dr Hamilton is working at a place called Cadmus Labs. Apparently your father pulled off some kind of scam which bankrupted a rival of his. Decimated the man’s holdings. He’s keeping the lab as some kind of trophy.”

“How did he find out about the man?”

“Same way you did. Hamilton was considered a local crackpot, selling meteor rocks from a stand on his property. Before that, he was a scientist at Met U. Word is, he was kicked out over some kind of scandal. Something about inappropriate relations with a female student. I found out from an ex-colleague of his that that was a whitewash. The man started talking what they claimed was nonsense about the meteors and how they had some mutagenic effect on the locals. Since then, he’s devoted his time to studying the meteor rock.”

Clark bit his lip and glanced at Lex, who just squeezed his hand reassuringly.

“So, what do we do?” Lex asked.

“I’m coming to Smallville. You and I will do something. Clark, I need you to promise me you’ll stay at the farm. I don’t want you anywhere near this.”

“But …” Clark began.

“No, listen to me. If Lionel is studying you, this thing, whatever they found, might be traced back to you. If we take you along, you might be forced to use your powers. Besides, what I’m planning, it’s very illegal.”

From the look on Lex’s face, Clark figured he understood exactly what Bruce was planning.

“So why are you doing it then?” Clark asked.

He could practically hear the smirk in his friend’s voice.

“Trust me, this is something I learned how to do in Asia. It’s the only way we’re going to be able to keep you safe. You hear me?”

Lex looked at him. “Bruce is right, Clark. We can’t let Lionel get his hands on this thing, whatever it is. If he thinks you have any connection to it, the first thing he’s going to do if it somehow disappears is try to figure out if you had anything to do with it. This way, you’ve got an alibi.”

He bit his lip, then nodded. That was logical, he thought.

It was another anxious couple of days where Clark continued to work on the farm, as well as spending a couple of hours at The Beanery, making sure he was seen around town.

The day before he was due to go back to school, a black limousine turned up at the farm. His father stared at it with an expression of hostility. Clark realised why when he saw the number plate. Lionel.

The bearded man got out and spoke to his father, who called Clark a few moments later. Clark approached them warily.

“Mr Luthor wants to talk to you.”

“About what?” he asked.

“One of my facilities was broken into yesterday,” the billionaire replied. “A place called Cadmus Labs. Do you know it?”

The one thing his friends had taught him was how to lie effectively. He looked straight at the man, adopting an innocent expression.

“Should I?” he asked.

“Well, you and my son were seen talking to an employee from there a few days ago.”

Clark frowned at him, pretending not to understand, then raised his eyebrows.

“A few days ago? There was something going on at Miller’s Field, but the man said you were just doing some soil testing. We didn’t think anything of it.”

Lionel continued to ask him, clearly hoping to trip him up, but Clark maintained his innocence. The other man had no proof and he knew it. He left without getting any answers.

“What was that all about?” his father asked.

Clark shrugged, still pretending innocence. He finished his chores and went in to dinner.

Lex called shortly after dinner and Clark went over to the mansion. Bruce was sitting in the study, sipping from a bottle of water. He still refused to drink, unless he was at some social occasion.

He had clearly been working out more as he seemed ten times better than he was in Bhutan. He smirked at Clark.

“We taught you well,” he said. “Lionel was here, spitting tacks.”

Lex laughed and reached up, tousling Clark’s hair.

“I’d feel sorry for him if he wasn’t such as bastard.” He produced a metal disk from his pocket. “What is this thing anyway?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Clark replied, taking it from him. He examined it, looking at the symbols inscribed on one side of the flat surface.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Bruce told him. “You need to take it to the ship.”

Clark suddenly felt nervous. His mouth was a little dry and he licked his lips.

“I don’t know.”

“Clark, you’re never going to find out where you came from if you don’t,” Lex reminded him gently.

“I know, it’s just … what if …”

“What?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t … I don’t know what I’m thinking.”

Bruce looked at him. “Would it help if we went with you?”

As much as Clark wanted that, he knew this was something he had to do alone. Besides, he thought, what if the ship suddenly turned hostile and did something bad to them? He couldn’t face the thought of both his boyfriends being hurt.

He returned home a couple of hours later, feeling sated after several rounds of lovemaking with both his boyfriends. It was the first time since Bruce’s return that he’d been able to have sex with them and he’d clearly been missing it.

He went to bed, waiting until he knew his parents were asleep before sneaking out to the storm cellar. He stared unseeing in the darkness, barely able to make out the shape of the thing hidden in the back of the cellar behind some old crates. Biting his lip, Clark moved forward, pulling the canvas sheet off the ship.

Suddenly it felt as if the disk was vibrating in his pocket. He could hear a soft humming sound and realised as soon as he turned his head that the ship was coming to life. It was glowing, the light brightening.

He pulled the disk from his pocket. It too was glowing. Before he could move, the disk flew out of his hand toward the ship. It twisted in the air a few times before settling in the indentation.

The ship opened up slowly, the top of the main capsule separating, a soft glow emanating from inside.

A voice seemed to boom in the darkness.

“Kal-El.”

He stared. “Who …?

“I am your father, Jor-El.”

If Clark hadn’t been invulnerable, he was sure he would have fainted on the spot. 


End file.
